Major Conglomerates Still Hoarding Cash

Samsung, Hyundai, SK Hynix, LG and other top conglomerates hold more than W103 trillion in cash, apparently because they can find no suitable investment targets (US$1W1,030).

New Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan after his inauguration on Wednesday pledged to push them to put the cash back into circulation, either through dividends or by investing in new projects.

The Chosun Ilbo analyzed the cash holdings at the nation's top 10 conglomerates as of the end of March this year and found that they have a total of W103.8 trillion in cash. In the first quarter of 2011, they only hoarded W21.5 trillion.